WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The World Health Organization has published its first-ever guidance on antibiotic pollution from manufacturing.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance.
The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution, according to WHO.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
'Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health,' said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim. 'Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone.'
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